The present application is related to commonly-owned Ser. Nos. 07/897,080 filed Jun. 11, 1992 and now abandoned, and 08/063,577, filed May 19, 1993, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The present application is also related to commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,743, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to outdoor cooking devices and more particularly, to outdoor cooking devices such as an outdoor barbeque oven.
2. Description of Related Art
A popular form of food preparation during warm weather is the outdoor barbeque. Typically, food is prepared by cooking it on a grill of an outdoor barbeque oven. Such barbeque ovens are usually heated with an ignitable fuel source such as charcoal, propane gas or a liquid fuel. Such cooking arrangements typically include a metal cover which fits over the cooking surface. In use, such covers become very hot which makes them difficult to handle and pose a burning hazard. In the case of charcoal grills, particularly large charcoal grills, it is especially difficult to obtain uniform heating across the grill surface unless a large amount of charcoal is used to cover the entire area under the grill. However, when a large amount of charcoal is used the grill can become too hot for cooking. As a result, it is necessary to wait until the fire dies down thus wasting energy and cooking time.
There is a need in the art for an outdoor cooking device which provides more uniform temperatures on the cooking surface, prevents the outer surface of the device from becoming too hot and provides more economical fuel consumption.